South Africa: crypto and stablecoin regulation (as of 2 November 2026)

As of 2026-11-02

In South Africa, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) declared crypto assets a financial product under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, No. 37 of 2002 (FAIS Act). The declaration was gazetted on 19 October 2022, and the FSCA started licensing crypto asset service providers (CASPs) under the FAIS Act on 1 June 2023. As at 31 March 2026 the FSCA had approved 310 of 533 CASP licence applications. A Joint Communication of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) National Payment System Department and the FSCA on crypto assets for domestic payment purposes states that, for its purposes, crypto assets include stablecoins, that a crypto asset does not have legal tender status, and that the SARB is unlikely to consider foreign currency-pegged stablecoins as payment instruments for domestic transactions. The PDF of the Joint Communication has blank date fields, so this page gives it no date. The same document says the IFWG is analysing the use cases of rand-pegged stablecoins.

This page states what the government sources say. It is not legal advice.

Status as of 2 November 2026

Status	Rule	Since / from	Source
Published	FSCA declaration of crypto assets as a financial product under the FAIS Act: "The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has published the declaration of Crypto Assets as a financial product under the FAIS Act, which was gazetted on 19 October 2022."	19 October 2022 (gazetted)	FSCA
In force	Licensing of CASPs as financial services providers (FSPs) under the FAIS Act: the FSCA "commenced the licensing process for crypto asset service providers (CASPs) under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) Act, No. 37 of 2002 on 1 June 2023."	1 June 2023	FSCA
Statement	SARB and FSCA Joint Communication: Crypto assets for domestic payment purposes (File Ref. no.: 18/4/1_Crypto Assets): "For purposes of this Communication, crypto assets include stablecoins." It states that a crypto asset does not have legal tender status, is neither money as defined in the NPS Act nor funds, and that the SARB is unlikely to consider foreign currency-pegged stablecoins as payment instruments for domestic transactions.	— (the PDF date fields are blank)	SARB
Statement	FSCA licensing update: as at 31 March 2026, "the FSCA had received a total of 533 CASP licence applications, of which 310 have been approved and 17 declined." The FSCA also reports 81 investigations into potential unlicensed CASPs. On legal status, the release says: "The South African Reserve Bank does not currently recognise crypto assets as currency."	15 April 2026 (FSCA press release)	FSCA
Published	FSCA "LIST OF LICENSED CRYPTO ASSET SERVICE PROVIDERS - DECEMBER 2025": section A (CASPs licensed under the FAIS Act) is numbered 1 to 291; section B lists CASPs with product categories removed, section C lapsed licences (1) and section D provisionally withdrawn licences (1). The list predates the FSCA count of 310 approvals as at 31 March 2026.	December 2025	FSCA

Key rules

Definition (Declaration, as quoted in the Joint Communication). A crypto asset is a digital representation of value that "is not issued by a central bank, but is capable of being traded, transferred or stored electronically by natural and legal persons for the purpose of payment, investment and other forms of utility", applies cryptographic techniques and uses distributed ledger technology. (SARB)
Stablecoins covered (Joint Communication). "For purposes of this Communication, crypto assets include stablecoins." (SARB)
Not legal tender (Joint Communication). "A crypto asset does not have legal tender status." (SARB)
Payments under the NPS Act (Joint Communication). "A crypto asset is neither money as defined in the NPS Act, nor funds and therefore does not meet the SARB’s interpretation of payment and thus the definition of a payment system." (SARB)
Foreign currency-pegged stablecoins (Joint Communication). "The SARB is thus unlikely to consider foreign currency-pegged stablecoins as payment instruments for domestic transactions." (SARB)
Rand-pegged stablecoins (Joint Communication). "The IFWG is currently analysing the applicable use cases of rand-pegged stablecoins to inform an appropriate policy and regulatory response by relevant regulators." "The SARB is interested in testing domestic stablecoin payment use cases in the IFWG’s Regulatory Sandbox." (SARB)
Revision of the NPS Act (Joint Communication). "The revision of the NPS Act will include provisions that would enable the SARB, at its discretion, to declare and regulate payment instruments other than money, such as crypto assets." (SARB)
Licensing of intermediaries and advisers (Joint Communication). "Intermediaries facilitating crypto asset payment-type activities and persons giving advice related to crypto assets must be authorised by the FSCA as FSPs under the FAIS Act." (SARB)
Communication with customers (Joint Communication). "Licensed CASPs must also communicate clearly and unambiguously with financial customers regarding the limited scope and nature of the activities for which they are licensed by the FSCA (noting that these activities do not constitute legal tender)." (SARB)
Scope of the FSCA licence (FSCA, 15 April 2026). The FSCA licence is a FAIS Act licence for advice, intermediary and investment management services; the FSCA release says this excludes the recognition of crypto assets as legal tender, and that "The South African Reserve Bank does not currently recognise crypto assets as currency." (FSCA)
Transitional exemption (FSCA, 20 October 2022). Existing providers could keep operating without a licence if they applied for a licence in the window set by the exemption: "The stipulated period is 1 June 2023 until 30 November 2023." (FSCA)

Timeline

Date	Event	Source
19 October 2022	FSCA declaration of crypto assets as a financial product under the FAIS Act gazetted	FSCA
20 October 2022	FSCA press release on the declaration	FSCA
1 June 2023	FSCA starts licensing CASPs under the FAIS Act; the transitional application window opens	FSCA, FSCA
30 November 2023	Transitional application window closes	FSCA
December 2025	FSCA list of licensed crypto asset service providers (section A numbered 1 to 291)	FSCA
31 March 2026	FSCA count: 533 CASP licence applications received, 310 approved, 17 declined	FSCA
15 April 2026	FSCA press release on CASP licensing, enforcement and the legal status of crypto assets	FSCA

Not covered here

The IFWG papers, including the IFWG position paper on crypto assets (2021) and its work on rand-pegged stablecoins, were not read, because ifwg.co.za was not reachable; the regulatory treatment of rand-pegged stablecoins is described here only through the Joint Communication. The declaration's own Government Gazette text, including its notice number, was not read; its status and definition are quoted from the FSCA press release of 20 October 2022 and the Joint Communication. The Joint Communication is not dated on this page because the date fields in its PDF are blank. The sources this page uses do not say whether or when the revised NPS Act will be adopted.

Sources

Updated: 2026-11-02 · Markdown version